Passenger (singer)
| Passenger | |
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Rosenberg performing in Southampton, Hampshire, England in January 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael David Rosenberg |
| Born |
17 May 1984 Brighton and Hove, England |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | passengermusic |
| Notable instruments | |
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Michael David Rosenberg (born 17 May 1984), better known by his stage name Passenger, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Previously the main vocalist and songwriter of Passenger, Rosenberg opted to keep the band's name for his solo work after the band dissolved in 2009. His most successful single, "Let Her Go", has topped the charts in many countries. In 2014, the song was nominated for the Brit Award for British Single of the Year, and he received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Most Performed Work.
Rosenberg was born on 17 May 1984 in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex, England to an English mother and an American father, Gerard Rosenberg, originally from Vineland, New Jersey. Rosenberg learned classical guitar at a young age, and around 14–15 started to write songs. He worked as a chef and spent his spare time on writing music and practicing guitar. He did not apply himself at school in Brighton, spending his time on music. Rosenberg left school at the age of 16 to pursue a career in the music industry and spent the next few years as a busker in England and Australia. Rosenberg still lives in Brighton. He is a fan of English football club Arsenal F.C. In May 2015, Rosenberg appeared at Arsenal's 'A Night to Inspire' event and played a version of the '49 Undefeated' fan chant.
Rosenberg’s father (a film production worker) introduced him to ex-Faithless member Jamie Catto in 2001, leading to a two-song spot at the Free Burma Campaign benefit gig at the Royal Court in London in 2002. On the night, Rosenberg met his future writing partner Andrew Phillips and established contact with the IE Music label. Back in Brighton, Phillips and Rosenberg pooled their musical influences (from Simon And Garfunkel to DJ Shadow), and started to write songs at Phillips’ in-house studio in Hove. During 2003 they formed the Mike Rosenberg Band, engaging Marcus O’Dair (bass), Alon Cohen (drums) and Richard Brinklow (keyboards) through connections within the Brighton music scene.
Rosenberg did his first performance when he was 16. He founded Passenger with Andrew Phillips in 2003 in Brighton and Hove. The name of the band was stylised as /Passenger. (with a slash at the beginning and a dot at the end). The five-person band's debut and only album, Wicked Man's Rest, was released in 2007, on Chalkmark. Rosenberg wrote the majority of the album's tracks, with the exception of "Four Horses", which was written by Phillips. The band broke up in 2009.
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